I think if education was celebrated in pop culture, we'd live in

Hear the words of Cote de Pablo, spoken with quiet clarity and burning truth: “I think if education was celebrated in pop culture, we’d live in a better place.” These words are not mere complaint, but prophecy. They reveal how the values of a people shape their destiny, how what is praised in song, in story, and in spectacle becomes what is pursued by the many. For culture is the mirror of a nation’s soul, and when it celebrates the shallow, the shallow takes root; but when it exalts wisdom, then wisdom blossoms in the land.

For what is pop culture but the great stage of the age—the music that fills the ears, the stories that fire the imagination, the faces lifted up as heroes to be admired? The young look to these lights, and from them they learn what to desire, what to emulate, what to become. If education, the pursuit of truth and understanding, were lifted high upon this stage, then children would dream not only of fame or wealth, but of discovery, of wisdom, of virtue. A culture that praises learning creates generations that seek greatness not just in appearance, but in spirit.

Consider the Greeks of old, who celebrated their philosophers as much as their warriors. In the marketplace, men gathered to hear Socrates question, to hear Plato teach, to hear Aristotle explain the mysteries of the world. Their ideas were not hidden in dusty halls but were woven into the life of the people. And because their culture celebrated thought as well as strength, they produced minds whose influence has endured for millennia.

By contrast, think of times and places where learning was scorned, where entertainers, flatterers, and the shallow voices of the moment were exalted above scholars and teachers. Such civilizations often glittered for a moment but fell into ruin, for their roots were not deep. Bread and circus may keep a crowd amused, but it does not build a nation. Only the honor of education—of knowledge and virtue—creates a foundation that endures storms.

The heart of de Pablo’s words is this: celebration shapes aspiration. If the singers and actors, the athletes and idols, themselves exalted learning, curiosity, and wisdom, then the multitude would follow. Imagine a world where the popular song praised discovery, where the film exalted the scholar, where the hero on the screen was admired not for violence or vanity, but for knowledge and truth. Such a culture would not only entertain—it would uplift.

The lesson, O listener, is clear. Do not despise the power of pop culture, for it is a mighty river that shapes hearts more swiftly than laws and decrees. But strive to guide that river toward wisdom. Celebrate learning in your own home, honor knowledge in your conversations, lift up those who teach and those who seek truth. Support works of art, song, and story that point not downward into folly, but upward toward wisdom.

Therefore, walk with this teaching: let education be not a burden but a crown, not hidden in shadows but celebrated in the open. If enough voices honor it, then even the culture of the age may shift, and with it, the destiny of the people. For as de Pablo declared, if education were celebrated, the world itself would be better, brighter, and wiser. And it is within our power, each of us, to begin that celebration.